The annual conference − Fire Related Research and Developments (RE12) − is to be held at the Fire Service College, Moreton-in-Marsh on November 15th, reports Programme Co-ordinator Dr Anne Eyre.

The Institution of Fire Engineers and The Fire Service College are pleased to announce details of this annual conference and to invite papers for inclusion in plenary, parallel or poster sessions. Are you or your colleagues engaged in an innovative project, research and/or development in a fire-related field? We wish to hear from individuals, fire and rescue authorities and other organisations looking to showcase best practice, initiative and cutting edge research.

Our conference attracts a wide audience from across the emergency services, the fire industry, research communities and other private or public sectors interested in the latest fire-related issues, developments and concerns. We welcome a broad range of backgrounds and professional approaches including technical, engineering, legal, social, psychological, economic, operational, national and international perspectives. This gives our conference its distinctive multi-disciplinary and multi-agency flavour.

 

Reasons to Attend

Benefits of attending this event include the opportunity to:

  • Be informed about the latest developments in research and best practice and learn from a range of approaches and perspectives on key topical issues
  • Profile and discuss your work by giving a presentation - in person or by poster
  • Apply, as a presenter, for the annual FIRE/Gore Research Excellence Awards - presented to the most captivating research projects and including cash prizes (£1000 for best research project and £250 for best poster)
  • Informally discuss project-related issues and problems with others actively engaged in research and development work
  • Meet and network with a range of professionals from across fire-related communities
  • Receive an award of CPD hours by the IFE
  • Discuss opportunities for further professional development with representatives from the professional bodies such as the IFE.

We are now inviting anyone interested in presenting at the conference to submit a short summary of their work (complete or in progress) using the attached proforma by Friday May 4th 2012. Presentations may focus on any field of interest to the fire and emergency response and management community. This might include (but is not restricted to) projects focussing on: technical and fire engineering research; audit analysis, leadership issues, effective evaluation methods; multi-agency initiatives, partnership working, governance, employment relations, fire research statistics; integrated risk management planning; the application of the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order; civil protection and disaster management; professional training and development.

 

Presentations 

In considering submissions, we will take account of the following:

  • Applications can only be considered if submitted using the proforma from the email address below and must include the details requested and in the format stated
  • This will be a mixed audience of Fire Service professionals together with people from other sectors, emergency services and industrial and academic research. Presenters should take account of this and make allowances for differences in background knowledge
  • It is our experience that papers achieve the most impact if they focus on a well defined problem and discuss issues such as methodology, results and/or the evaluation of a particular project or innovation. We look for presentations that are relevant, authentic and original
  • We particularly encourage students and those in the initial stages of projects to present their work in progress, even if results are not yet available. In this way they may benefit from valuable and supportive feedback from more experienced researchers and practitioners at the conference. A number of our presenters return to present results at subsequent conferences
  • While the conference provides an environment of support (particularly for new researchers and those with work-in-progress), research methodologies, ideas and findings will be subject to challenge/constructive peer review as befits academic meetings of this kind. Presenters must be prepared to justify their research methods, evidence, analysis and conclusions to an expert audience. There may be challenge and criticism and while we expect all participants to be restrained and courteous, we wish to create a forum for lively discourse.

As many submissions as possible will be included. Speakers will be invited to present short papers (typically 20 minutes with 5 minutes for questions though longer slots may be offered) in plenary or parallel sessions. Poster presentations are also welcome. If there is considerable interest in submitting papers, it may be necessary to make a selection of speakers and to offer space in the poster session to anyone not offered a speaking slot.

 

Submitting Your Proposal 

Email: anne.eyre@traumatraining.com. Tel: +44(0)2476-505262.

 

Photo: Last year's winners of the FIRE Magazine/Gore Research Excellence Award David Wales and Owain Thompson

 

Posted March 16th, 2012 at 1340 by Andrew. Comment by emailing: andrew.lynch@pavpub.com